Have you or the property owners of Coventry Township heard about the silent election scheduled for Feb. 5? I’ve heard of silent auctions, but this is the first silent election I’ve experienced! It appears there is one special election scheduled in Summit County, in one school district — Coventry.

But strangely, there is not a yard sign, message board, newspaper ad or media announcement either supporting or opposing the proposed 5.33-mill additional levy. Coventry just renewed a 9-plus mill levy in November, and defeated this same levy in August. Property owners currently fund schools [through] 39.29 mills in current and unexpired levies (one mill equals $1 of every $1,000 of property value). Our courts have ruled property owners are not the sole support of school funding, and as long as these tactics can fly under the radar, it will never stop.

In November, [Coventry Schools] Superintendent Russell Chaboudy said district officials would spend the time leading up to the February election educating the community and encouraging them to vote. But I haven’t heard a word, and the district website has no information about the election except how to register. So am I just a conspiracy theory zealot or is somebody trying to hide the pea from those who would be taxed? Just so happens it’s now too late to register for this election if you didn’t vote in the November election. So just a heads up Coventry; if you’re the one paying the toll, whether pro or con, let the uninformed and unassuming be advised, vote Feb. 5 in person, absentee or at the election board.

Paul Suloff, Coventry

Editor’s note: The issue that is on the ballot is a combined 5.99-mill levy and bond issue — 4.89 mills would be used for the bond, which would extend 34 years, and 1.1 mills for a permanent improvement levy. According to Summit County Board of Elections officials, voters cannot vote at the Board of Elections on election day.